Booklady- What dates are you looking for? There are some dates (usually starting the 18th or so) that are highly unlikely to go down... and will be that way until about christmas- then afterwards will be cheaper. So you'll have to leave before, or after that.
Again, book early for lower fares, especially in December, as in Sept and ESPECIALLY in Oct, they'll start to go up again for the holidays.
Siguiendo mi propio Camino de Santiago
Posts: 387 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 19 October 2002
My parents (or rather my sister actually) just booked tickets on the USAir sale for about 550 dollars round trip including taxes. They will be coming from the West Coast in the second half of September and staying for about three weeks, so the fares are available -- though disappearing fast!
I paid $667 on Iberia from Seattle, late SEpt to mid October. That is not the cheapest I have flown ($525) but is far from the most I have paid. My stategy was: 1.I am going to go 2. I have up to X dollars 3. I need to be there by X date, so I will check for dates 'around' then and hope I get it cheaper! If you can't find a flight you can afford, then you probably can't really afford to go.....sorry.
Personally, I would not waste a whole lot of time trying to save $100 when you may miss the entire trip should the flight fill up. But that is just my opinion.
Posts: 232 | Location: Seattle, WA, USA | Registered: 03 June 2001
I asked Jer this before but now after thinking about it again I have confused myself. I am wondering if this is a viable option to get to Madrid. I am going there in October. The RT ticket NY-Mad-NY right now is 526$. Mad-NY-Mad is 336$. Is it possible for my girlfriend to purchase a Mad-NY-Mad ticket in Spain with me as the passenger? She could mail me the ticket and I would just get on the plane going back to Madrid using the return part! Can I do this? I mean the RT ticket is 2 separately usable parts right? Do I have to be on the going flight to come back?? I've taken Iberia flights many times but for some reason can't work this out in my brain right now. Just wanna go home.
Jer's right we Americans must have all the money
"He who hath not a dram of folly in his mixture, hath pounds of much worse matter in his composition".
Posts: 334 | Location: New York, USA | Registered: 06 June 2003
Airlines make their biggest profit on business travelers and people flying one way. To avoid losing that profit, most airlines will cancel a reservation completely if the passenger doesn't use the first part of a round trip ticket. On domestic U.S. flights, it was pretty common practice for people to buy cheap round trip tickets, fly one way, and then throw away the return ticket even though that was technically not allowed. That's almost impossible to do if your intent is to use the return ticket but not the outbound ticket.
I can absolutely agree with eduardo!!! I just tried that last month with both BA and Iberia. If you look in their conditions they will both say if you don�t use the outbound, i.e. MAD to wherever, then they will cancel the inbound!!!
________________________________________ Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional
Hey Mikey, I guess I did not understand your plan well in the chat earlier.
That client I told you about actually had a ticket that did not allow changes on the return to USA leg and since he wanted to stay an extra 2 weeks in Spain, he decided to buy a RT here which cost him like 300�. He only planned to use the outbound and it was worth it to him to let his orignal return journey go unused for the extra 2 weeksa in Spain.
Thanks for the great info eduardo (and confimation madsue), I had no idea about that cancellation policy.
Hey Fordhammike. It's like jer says. I did same thing earlier this year, but just to stay another day. It is so much easier(and cheaper) just to go ahead and get a new cheap roundtrip ticket in Madrid than try and negotiate or complain or just about anything.I know, I tried. Reeeeeeeaaaaaally hard.
jonzrqlz
Posts: 92 | Location: central Missouri, USA | Registered: 03 October 2002
Mike- Ask your girlfriend to check a price on a ticket if she purchases it for you in Spain, originating in NY, to Mad and return to NY- Spanish consolidator tickets have the most flexible rules- you can make as many changes as you want with no extra fees- as long as there is availibility in your class of service (usually 'Q') the ticket will probably be cheaper, and that way you'll have the flexibility you want, without paying for several tickets.
And yes, if you purchase a rt, but are trying to ditch the first part and use only the return- the itinerary will be cancelled. What you were contemplating wouldn't make much sense anyway- as you'd be buying additional tickets for nothing. Your idea would only work if you purchased them so that you would be using the first part of the trip each way. Anyway, ask her about getting a ticket for you in Spain, originating in NY (yes, it can be done) and her mailing the ticket to you. Problem solved and much more simple!
Siguiendo mi propio Camino de Santiago
Posts: 387 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 19 October 2002
My idea actually made sense since the RT ticket from NY to Mad is 526$ and the RT ticket from MAD to NY is only 336$. I don't know if you're aware or not, but I am going to Spain and not coming back. Hence I could either pay 526$(expensive) or 336$(cheap)to get to Madrid. I didn't know about the itinerary policies. I also think I tried once before to buy a NY to Mad ticket from Spain but they gave us a hard time OR they charged us the same price I would have paid if I purchased it here in NY. I know you can't do it on the website cuz the option for New York isn't there. But I'll have her call them again. Thanks for the advice.
P.S. I wanted to extend my stay in Spain once and called Iberia. I was able to extend my ticket for only 200$ because they said I was under 25. The RT ticket I could have purchased was more. This under 25 policy is very vague, some employees know about it others don't. I dunno if it's called the student discount or the joven discount. I tried getting the same thing stateside but they said they didn't have a discount like that.
Laters, Michael
Michael
"He who hath not a dram of folly in his mixture, hath pounds of much worse matter in his composition".
Posts: 334 | Location: New York, USA | Registered: 06 June 2003
Mike- They shouldn't have given you the same price purchasing in Mad for a Ny tkt- as its nothing illegal or anything like that- I'd try a different travel agent, but again, depending on the time of year, maybe it wouldn't have made a difference in pricing.
As far as the change for $200- many tkts have a change fee- it can run from $50 (if you purchase through a travel agent) or $$150-$200 if you purchase directly through the airline. It has nothing to do with being a student or not. If you go directly to the airport- they are gods in the Airline world and can pretty much bend, break or distort any rule they want to- you're at the mercy of their mood or kindness... In any event, no matter what the policy- ask about the rules of the ticket when you purchase it (this is when they would tell you about fees regarding changes, or even if it can be done or not- some restricted fares ie. VERY CHEAP fares- no changes whatsoever are permitted- not even upgrades!!!!!) when you recieve your tickets it will also be printed on the ticket- so the agent doesn't necessarily have to know about it- all they have to do is read the ticket.
I went with a ticket purchased with STA once, and changed my date for a mere $25. A benefit they have, sometimes the tkts are cheaper through them and a bonus because to change the date its cheap! And the tkt comes with the info on the agencies that support them, so you know where to go if you want to change the date- in Madrid it was a travel agency near the Plaza de Espana.
I purchased my one way ticket through a program called Side-step- you can get to the discount program by going to the US Airways website and looking at their discount programs. My ticket from Florida came out to $464.40 one way- which is very good for a one way trip! So it is a good deal- leaving from NY it should be a bit cheaper. On their website they also list a place where you could get student discounted tickets (very cool since other airlines dont offer information on their websites re where to purchase discount tickets for them! )
Another place to try is STA.com- sometimes its a good deal- sometimes its not- but leaving from NY you should find some really good prices.
As far as the one-way: I was asked if I was Spanish or not, I told the guy yes,so it wasn't a problem, he just said he wanted to check because he didn't want me to have any trouble at the airport- I know people do it, but purchasing a one way if you do not have the proper documentation or permission as they can deny you boarding- or worse, reject you entry once you get to Spain. Which is why many people purchase the RT and then ditch the return portion- they don't know you're staying so they don't question upon entry. And more often than not, you will get sold a one-way without the agent asking you any questions- but again, unless you have the residence card or a passport for the country you're wanting to enter, they aren't supposed to sell you a one way.
If you're going and not planning on coming back, your plan doesn't make sense, as you wouldn't need a return so why try to do all of this juggling in the first place?! I actually was under the impression you were going for a year to study abroad. Anyways, I hope that the information I've given helps- any questions just post away! Good luck- and see you there!
Siguiendo mi propio Camino de Santiago
Posts: 387 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 19 October 2002
Thanks for your info. Maybe I'm not clear in my posting. The 200$ I am talking about is not a change fee. It was the price of my new ticket going home. The ticket would have been around 515$. For some reason I couldn't simply extend but had to buy a new ticket home. Maybe it's because I called like at 1am the night before I was leaving. When processing my new return ticket they actually asked me over the phone if I was a student. I said what do you mean by 'student'and they told me if I was under 25 I get a discount. When I went to the airport to pickup the ticket the agent verified my age with the passport. I asked her if that policy is an IBERIA-wide standard. She said to her knowledge no, only in Spain.
As far as purchasing one ways. I should mention that I want to travel on Iberia only. I will have a lot of bags and suitcases so switching and waiting for bags is a needless hassle. I will check out the sites you gave me. I don't think I'll have a problem with customs since I'll have my student visa with me and all proper documents.
LOL I still fail to see all the juggling in my plan. I am studying there for 13 months and have no idea when I'm coming back (if at all). There isn't anything complicated about my original plan. It was either buy an RT NY-Mad-NY here OR a RT Mad-NY-Mad there. One is expensive and one is cheap. Now that I found out about the itinerary rules I know I cannot just hop on back to Madrid from NY w/o being on the incoming flight.
To me, I don't give a hooty hoot about wasting parts of the itinerary. Whichever way is cheaper is the one that suits me. So far all one way tickets are more expensive than round-trips. So if I have to waste part of the trip then so be it. :jeje:
Hope this cleared my situation.
"He who hath not a dram of folly in his mixture, hath pounds of much worse matter in his composition".
Posts: 334 | Location: New York, USA | Registered: 06 June 2003
- rent or buy a cell phone from me for your stay in spain, more info at 
- already have a cell phone, get a spanish SIM card for it at 
Just wanna go home.
I actually was under the impression you were going for a year to study abroad. Anyways, I hope that the information I've given helps- any questions just post away! Good luck- and see you there!
I still fail to see all the juggling in my plan. I am studying there for 13 months and have no idea when I'm coming back (if at all). There isn't anything complicated about my original plan. It was either buy an RT NY-Mad-NY here OR a RT Mad-NY-Mad there. One is expensive and one is cheap. Now that I found out about the itinerary rules I know I cannot just hop on back to Madrid from NY w/o being on the incoming flight. 
